Walleye Conservation Project in Westport, Ontario

Fishing Guy –He's a happy man!

Walleye Rehabilitation
We've often gone to Westport for fun, frolic, Blues music, or sometimes just to sit by the water.

I've noticed the project sign and I became curious enough to do some research.

One of the issues with building roads over bodies of water, is creating a causeway but keeping the integrity of a bay, where fish spawn, visit, and blue heron find their food. This dam is protecting the Walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) who use the Westport Bay for spawning.

Excellent fried
–good to take the photo whilst not drooling!

Also, ensuring the fish can find the right conditions for reproducing. These fish have particular needs for depth.

Many groups, including Ducks Unlimited, as well as fishers groups, aim to balance and maintain the population in a healthy ecosystem. We can do much to protect our critters, as well as harvesting them for our own use. This is something we have done, as a species, since time memorial.

For those to whom much is given (i.e., a
cottage on a lake shore) much is required. Species, such as walleye, can be terribly impacted by those who build cottages and destroy shorelines. Fast boats are the bane of existence to good fish habitat. Many creatures require shorelines.

 My friend, Fishing Guy, has been fishing for 60 years. He often travels about this continent. I asked if he had a photo of Walleye I might use. We don't fish!

My blog buddy, Fishing Guy,
shared his photos!

He tells me:

 Most of the time I use bobbers. I use night crawlers and jigs with curly tails body. I troll and use Hot-N-Tots which is a minnow shaped lure. This year I have caught quite a few fish on a lure called a Vibe. You jig them off the bottom. My favorite color on my artificial lures is chartreuse. 

According to Wiki: In some parts of its range, the walleye is known as the colored pike, yellow pike or pickerel (especially in English-speaking Canada), although the fish is not related to other species of pikes which are members of the family Esocidae.

Fishing Guy writes:

Westport is popular for fishing

My son, two grandsons and myself, headed out on a week fishing trip. We had a great time at the lodge. The Walleye were in the
15" to 17" range with a few over 18".  They grow about half as fast as they do in Ohio, about 3" a year. There were a lot of fish available and you could catch a limit quickly. We still had a fish fry most every night and the boys loved it.

Interesting lure!

Westport Bay on the right, to the left Upper Rideau Lake,
with the road going into Westport.

The orange booms keep people away -supposedly.

Habitat Requirements

The MNR publishes information (Walleye Habitat: A Synthesis of Current Knowledge with 
 Guidelines for Conservation –PDF) about:
Space, Water, Flow, Cover, Food.
There appear to be three basic factors which limit the natural range of walleye: height of land which physically separates different watersheds, salinity, and high summer temperatures (Collette et al. 1977).
The depth of water, and the temperature the fish requires for spawning (~20 C.), are important factors. Water depth is important; they prefer a depth of 3 - 10m. They require a certain amount of oxygen for the eggs and hatchlings, pH levels (>5.1), a specific spring temperature (5 - 10 C.), and water velocity for spawning and fertilizing eggs. "Flows at a spawning site in Upper Rideau Lake, Ontario, usually range from 1.01-1.10 m sec-1 (Environmental Applications Group Ltd. 1980)."

Habitat for walleye

Walleye juveniles, they hatch in three weeks, develop scotopic vision early in life, which enables them to exploit dimly lit or turbid environments. As walleye are negatively phototactic, they actively seek low levels of light intensity during the day and often retreat to deeper waters or seek cover during daylight hours.
It's amazing what research will tell us about a species!

Prevalence in Ontario

Carlander et al. (1978) estimated that walleye inhabit approximately 32% of the total freshwater area of North America. In Ontario, however, walleye are found in 90.6% of the available freshwater habitat (excluding the Great Lakes). Walleye are present in all of the Great Lakes and at least 4038 inland lakes. The majority of these waters (3621 lakes) are situated in northern Ontario (north and west of the French River, see Fig. 1).

Food Sources

Yellow perch (Perca flavescens), alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), and suckers (Catostomus spp.) are the most common prey items.

A spring view of the vista!
On the left, Big Rideau Lake,
on the right, Westport Bay.

Habitat preserve

On the bay side, there is a ramp leading up to the outflow. This is what the orange buoys protect. The water is relatively low, right now.

This is a delightful spot, leading into Big Rideau Lake.

Lots of sunfish are visiting this spot

It has a calming effect on the soul.

Jesse in Westport and at Foley Mountain

Jesse  loves the outdoors. Living, as he does, in B.C., he has the opportunity to view the mountains in the extreme. We took him to see our little Foley Mountain as a prelude to our lunch.

The lookout is much fun, the flora and fauna delightful all season. They have an interpretation centre, where I've donated some of the things I have found on our property; deer hoof, deer hide (road & wolf/coyote kill), a wing from a barred owl.

After our lunch, we did a tour of Westport. Everyone loves this Muskoka chair!

He doesn't get 'home' often, but I'm happy to see him when he does. Caitlin and I visited him in Chemainus  where he and his fiancé were performing in Singin' in the Rain at the Chemainus Festival. That was much fun, as Caitlin and I haven't traveled alone together ever!

Westport in the background

A busy man, my Jesse, he's here between gigs to visit family. And, yes, all three of my children are taller than I am! I perched on a rock, and still I be short!

Jesse and hubby

This is the sluice for the Walleye Fish Sanctuary
in the Westport Bay

Take back the lake, the falls

The Mississippi Riverwatchers

The Mississippi Riverwatchers

I've noticed a couple of proposed developments around here. The latest in my area, are those who
protest the Enerdu Power Plant at the Old Flour Mill Site in Almonte.
Many of these mills were built to harness power back in the early 1800s, when these towns were being built up. I won't say 'settled' as aboriginal communities used these rivers for transportation, using sustainable hunting and fishing strategies, long before we white folks were a gleam in our father's eyes!

Condos (left); Old Flour Mill (tall bldg. –right)

Condo owners play on the terrace!

Much water to harness

Founding of Almonte
Another colonialised town

Walleye Rehabilitation
One of the issues with dams, is protecting the fish who may use the rivers for spawning. We can do much to protect our critters

Westport

Say No to the Big Dock

One day, we went the back way around Mississippi Lake. We'd never been there on this back road. 

There, intruding into Mississippi Lake, a proposed dock for the marina. Now, I understand that we need to replace energy sources. Many are upset with the rebuilding of hydro dams, but this is very sad.

One worry are the winds we get with storms. We saw what happened when Muskoka had its recent floods: docks failing, coming loose, and sailing over the dams. 

A developer wants to put a dock far out into the lake, with dockage 250' long. It is shameful Man's inhumanity towards Nature. Take back the lake looks to be a good cause. As big as a football field, protruding into the lake. Give me a quiet canoe any day. Too many fail to understand that our lakes are not open Nascar tracks. Cottagers, especially renters, disrespect the serene beauty of cottage country.